Kid’s Music Review #1: The Biscuit Brothers

Have you become a carpool hostage to your children’s musical selections?

No offense to Raffi, but… do you NEVER want to hear another Raffi song for as long as you live? Or Barney the Purple Dinosaur? Or {{{shudder}}} one of those recorded children’s choruses singing childhood favorites like “The Farmer in the Dell?”

(Whose “favorite” *is* that, anyway?!?)

I’ve also heard about this song called “Let It Go.” Have you heard it? 😉

I’ve decided to share some of my favorite children’s musicians here at http://www.MsKatsMusic.com. Some are clever songwriters, some put on an engaging, interactive live show, some infuse their catchy music with a fantastic sense of humor (in some cases aimed at their adult audience)… all traits that allow their children’s music to cross the barrier from “tolerable” to “enjoyable.” And best of all: many are local!

I’ll start with the most famous local-to-Austin duo that targets the littlest musicians: The Biscuit Brothers!

Dusty and Buford Biscuit (Jerome Schoolar and Allen Robertson) chronicle their musical adventures with sister Buttermilk Biscuit (Jill Leberknight) and puppet-friend Tiny Scarecrow (Damon Brown). They serve the building blocks of music theory in the tiniest chunks that even the smallest preschoolers can wrap their heads around, and across many genres; jazz, swing, classical, bluegrass and more!

My boys and a pal at KLRU’s birthday party in downtown Austin

The Biscuit Brothers have played across Austin at Austin Kiddie Limits, SXSW, the Austin Family Music Festival at Pioneer Farms, the Children’s Series at Symphony Square, the Scottish Rite Theatre — and many, many more festivals and events, often at a low-cost or free of admission fees.

Most recently, they’ve been developing an arts program for children of all ages: music, theater, and dance classes, workshops, and half- or full-day summer camps in Southwest Austin at their Fine Arts Farm!

While it seems that they’re on hiatus from performing live — or maybe just updating their live concert calendar — you can catch their Emmy Award winning television show on KLRU on Saturday mornings at 9:30.